Wow, this sure is serious business for some people.

I've noticed that the environmental shadows are baked in. I imagine that's a very big reason to not have day/night cycles.

Originally posted by Unlight

I used to dislike Christmas until THEY (the amorphous, politically correct hive mind) started trying to abolish it.

Who did what when?

Some of the voice acting in EQ2 was better than most of the voice acting in TOR, I'll give you that. But most of EQ2's was not better than some of TOR's.

Originally posted by Ozivois

Yes, can't wait for an EQ3.  I hope it is something like a prequel to EQ1 using the same world. 

It's a reboot of the EQ1 setting. Think of it as EQ1 in an alternate timeline. This is one of the few things we do know about it.

Originally posted by Adamantine

Lightside and Darkside only affect Jedi in the first place. It doesnt affect any non-Jedi.

Bah. Has Obi-Wan tought you nothing? The Force affects everything, and the Dark Side is associated with ‘evil’ people whether they are themselves sensitive to the Force or not.

Remember, for instance, how Mace Windu, before realizing that Palpatine is a Sith Lord, says, ‘The Dark Side of the Force surrounds the Chancellor.’

The impatience inherent in the formation of pickup groups is indicative of the sort of people that you'll end up with, I think.

This is one of the few very good reasons for the formation of guilds.

Originally posted by bronecar

Good point. Also, what is the meaning of making worthless choices, such as in dialogues with quest givers that only change the first reply they give and nothing more?

Well, I can at least defend that by saying that there's immersion value in even the illusion of choice. The same goes for the Light/Dark choices, but I'd say it's undermined by the alignment gear basically removing even the illusion.

What's absurd about it is that you're encouraged to either always choose the light option or always choose the dark option. There's absolutely no benefit to doing anything else. So it's a useless series of choices, really. Might as well just ask ‘Light or Dark?’ at character creation and let it automate your dialogue choices from there.

Really obnoxious. My biggest problem with this game.

What I believe is that BioWare should continue to make MMOs, but in better settings. Star Wars has excellent name recognition, but I thought it was ill-suited to an MMO back when SWG was in development and I don't think that has changed.

I hope TOR does well enough for BioWare to later create a Dragon Age, Mass Effect, or original IP MMO; and I hope SOE does well enough with PlanetSide 2, and continues to do well enough with DCUO, that EverQuest 3 can make good use of sandbox lessons learned from SWG.

It's funny, because the anti-elf crowd is exactly what has brought us the sorts of Blizzardesque elves that are the norm today.

That said, it's mildly annoying that you're strongly encouraged to either go always light or always dark rather than making honest choices according to yourself or your character.

Originally posted by Kidon

PWEND OP!!!

I have a subtle inkling that you didn't look at the OP. The title is sarcastic.

3-faction PvP - There's nothing better than a trichotomy for games like this, and there are precious few of them.

Forge Light - I want to get a sense of what's in store for EverQuest ‘Next’.

Transhumanism - Technology equals might. We lead toward the light.

Originally posted by Timacek

not going to happen, because 80 percent of people will leave after the first or second month. 

people will realize that this game is sooo dumbed down they are better off something with more freedom.

If people are interested in TOR because they want to play a BioWare-style RPG (which it is, however simplified) with friends, then what else would you recommend to them?

I'm not disagreeing that it insults the player's intelligence in many ways, but I just don't see where else its audience has to go. It is the first of its kind.

Jesus Christ. Something like this:

1996.12-1997.12: SubSpace (beta)

1997.12-1998.07: SubSpace

1997.11-1997.12: Silencer (beta?)

1998.07-1999.04: The 4th Coming (beta)

1998.08-1998.09: Lineage (beta)

1998.12-1999.03: Underlight

1999.03-1999.07: EverQuest

1999.07-1999.10: Asheron's Call (beta)

1999.10-1999.12: EverQuest

1999.12-2000.02: 10six (beta)

2000.09-2000.10: Asheron's Call

2000.12-2001.02: EverQuest

2001.02-2001.08: Shattered Galaxy (beta)

2001.02-2001.05: Lorgaine: The Black Standard (beta)

2001.03-2001.06: RedMoon (beta)

2001.04-2001.06: Anarchy Online (beta)

2001.06-2001.08: Anarchy Online

2001.07-2001.09: Elemental Saga (beta)

2001.08-2001.10: Dark Age of Camelot (beta)

2001.10-2001.12: Dark Age of Camelot

2001.10-2002.01: Mimesis Online (beta)

2001.10-2002.06: Project Entropia (beta)

2001.12-2002.01: EverQuest

2002.01-2002.03: Underlight

2002.03-2002.09: Earth & Beyond (beta)

2002.06-2002.09: Neocron (beta)

2002.09-2002.10: Earth & Beyond

2002.10-2002.11: Asheron's Call 2 (beta)

2002.10-2002.11: The Sims Online (beta)

2002.11-2002.12: Dark Age of Camelot

2002.11-2003.02: A Tale in the Desert (beta)

2002.12-2003.12: Fung Wan Online (beta)

2002.12-2003.05: PlanetSide (beta)

2002.12-2003.02: The Sims Online

2002.12-2003.03: Shadowbane (beta)

2003.02-2003.05: EVE Online (beta)

2003.02-2003.06: Star Wars Galaxies (beta)

2003.02-2008.02: Wish/Irth Online (beta)

2003.05-2003.10: EVE Online

2003.08-2003.10: Lineage II (beta)

2003.08-2003.12: Horizons (beta)

2003.10-2003.11: Dark Age of Camelot

2003.12-2004.02: Star Wars Galaxies

2004.01-2004.03: Ashen Empires (beta)

2004.02-2004.04: City of Heroes (beta)

2004.03-2004.09: Neocron 2 (beta)

2004.04-2004.09: Saga of Ryzom (beta)

2004.06-2006.06: Dark and Light (beta)

2004.06-unknown: PlaneShift (beta)

2004.08-2004.11: EverQuest 2 (beta)

2004.09-2004.11: World of WarCraft (beta)

2004.11-2004.12: EVE Online

2004.12-2005.02: Dark Age of Camelot

2005.02-2005.03: The Matrix Online (beta)

2005.03-2005.04: Guild Wars (beta)

2005.04-2005.11: Shadowbane

2005.04-2005.05: Mourning (beta)

2005.11-2006.01: EVE Online

2005.12.2006.03: Face of Mankind (beta)

2006.01-2006.02: Dungeons & Dragons Online (beta)

2006.02-2006.11: EVE Online

2006.08-2007.01: Vanguard (beta)

2006.11-2006.12: EverQuest 2

2007.01-2007.02: Vanguard

2007.02-2007.04: Lord of the Rings Online (beta)

2007.04-2007.07: Shadowbane

2007.07-2007.10: EVE Online

2007.09-2007.10: Hellgate: London (beta)

2007.10-2007.11: Tabula Rasa (beta)

2007.11-2008.02: EVE Online

2008.04-2008.05: Age of Conan (beta)

2008.05-2008.06: Black Moon Chronciles (beta)

2008.06-2008-07: EVE Online

2008.07-2008.09: Warhammer Online (beta)

2008.09-2008.11: Shadowbane

2008.11-2009.03: EVE Online

2009.03-2009.05: Age of Conan

2009.07-2009.09: Fallen Earth (beta)

2009.07-2009.09: Aion (beta)

2009.08-2009.09: Champions Online (beta)

2009.09-2010.01: EVE Online

2009.10-2010.06: Mortal Online (beta)

2009.12-2010.01: Perpetuum (beta)

2010.01-2010.02: Star Trek Online (beta)

2010.02-2010.05: Lord of the Rings Online

2010.05-2010.06: All Points Bulletin (beta)

2010.06-2010.07: All Points Bulletin

2010.11-2010.12: EVE Online

2010.11-2011.02: Earthrise (beta)

2010.11-present: Star Wars: The Old Republic (game testing)

2010.12-2011.03: Rift (beta)

2010.12-2011.01: DC Universe Online (beta)

2011.04-2011.04: Star Trek Online

2011.04-2011.05: Black Prophecy (beta)

2011.06-2011.07: EVE Online

2011.08-2011.09: Lord of the Rings Online

2011.09-present

Looking forward to The Old Republic and World of Darkness. Possibly Guild Wars 2. Eager to see what EverQuest ‘Next’ is about. Desperately hoping for an Eclipse Phase MMO in the next ~9 years.

Do people so easily forget that EverQuest was Smedley's idea? That SOE was Verant, and John hired the people we more commonly credit for the end result?

I hate what SOE did to EQ2, SWG, and Vanguard, but praising EverQuest whilst dismissing the idea that John Smedley has ever done anything good seems rather strange.

Main point of hope:

The EverQuest Next team has more in common with the original EverQuest team than any project so far, even Vanguard. Bill Trost is world designer again, Rosie Rappaport is art director again, etc. The boys and girls are back in town, and Smedley is again the one tying them together. Of the trio of lead designers (Clover, McQuaid, Trost), we've lost McQuaid, but Clover and Trost are on-board where they were absent from Vanguard.

Not going to say it's definitely going to work out, but it's clearly a different sort of effort than we've seen so far, and seems to very accurately reflect what old EQ fans have been crying for.

EDIT: I see Trost actually left the team and is now lead designer at Trion Worlds. Shame.

Out of curiosity, what major company has ever invested in a sandbox? Are you referring to Ubisoft publishing Shadowbane, or looking as far back as UO or something?

Originally posted by Zylaxx

Another thing I would like to add, EQ Next needs to get rid of instancing alltogether and offer a skill based class system.  Everything should be done in the open world whether it be leveling, dungeon running or raiding.

Unless the new Norrath is something like twice the size of Telon or there are servers with very specific rulesets, I can't really agree. I'm much better able to suspend disbelief and/or enjoy time with friends when I'm not constantly seeing the multitude of other high fantasy superheroes having the same experiences with the same NPCs whilst humping and hopping to their heart's content.

I thought of instancing like you do when it first surfaced with Anarchy Online, but it has since become my best friend, because MMO gamers are, by and large, retarded, or do their best to be, and role-playing games by their nature are not equipped to deal with more than one party without losing a great deal of momentum and spirit.

I had been so excited to finally have a multiplayer RPG that wasn't an MMO after all this time, so needless to say, I wish they would have ‘taken their time’ making a better CORPG rather than using that time to go MMO, but all right, fine. Be that way, Cryptic. See if I care.

I used to say BioWare and Bethesda.

With BioWare no longer a strictly non-MMO developer, I'm left with Bethesda.

Preferably if the setting is Elder Scrolls or an original sci-fi setting (or Eclipse Phase).

Also, I think it might be even more interesting to ask the reverse question: what MMO developers would you pick to design a non-MMO? My top two would be Cryptic and CCP. I'm not a fan of Cryptic's work as I am CCPs, but I think they both have qualities that would serve them very well and even be refreshing in non-MMO action (for Cryptic) and RPG or RTS (for CCP) genres.

Originally posted by farfanugon

  You can get women to watch Fantasy movies and games with you . Up side 1/2 nude guys sword fighting ,Will most likely get you laid.

 So Fantasy has a chance even if slim you help you get action , while sadly Sci-Fi has no such properties

I envy you your simple world where an entire sex shares tastes in fiction.